Enshrinement reward for memorable golf career

July 10, 2008|By Dave Vilhauer, dvilhauer@aberdeennews.com

He has gone from a nine-hole sand-green course to the South Dakota Golf Association Hall of Fame. Roger Legge has carved out a memorable career since his early days at the Winner Golf Course. The Aberdeen man is one of the competitors in this week's South Dakota Match Play Golf Championship at Moccasin Creek Country Club and will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this evening. “It's a great honor,” Legge said of his selection. “It's something that you strive to say that you've given back to golf, either in playing or trying to promote the game or work hard to make it better. It's a proud day to get in the Hall of Fame. It really is.” Legge, who served for 10 years on the SDGA Board, began playing golf in obscurity. He recalled playing 36 holes during the day as a 10-year-old in Winner, then heading off to play baseball in the evening. “I really didn't have much instruction in Winner,” Legge said. “It got to where I could watch people and learn from just watching.” Soon he was polished enough to play with the older kids and then began beating adults. He won a conference title while competing for the University of South Dakota and has been a threat in every tournament since. He has won numerous titles, including the state match play crown in 1996 (he was runner-up on five other occasions). “I've always thrived on competition throughout my grade school years and high school and college,” Legge said. “I played all the sports where the ball moved. Golf is the only sport where the ball doesn't move. It looks easy for everybody. I think the reason people give up on it is because it is so frustrating. It should be easy, but it isn't.” Legge said the key to success in the sport can be summed up in one word: concentration. “I've always taught that your mind can only focus on one thing,” Legge said. “I think you focus on one shot, play that as good as you can, and do the next. I think where people get in trouble is they lose that concentration or you can't always get the concentration that you want because your mind wanders.” Legge knows he will have plenty on his mind this weekend with the match play tournament in his own backyard and the Hall of Fame ceremonies on tap tonight. And, the competition figures to be as strong as ever. “It's going to be a tough test,” he assured. “It always is because you play pretty much 36 holes a day. There's a lot of good young players now in South Dakota that are (NCAA) Division I and have turned pro. We're real fortunate to have really good young kids coming up.” Legge is hoping that his familiarity with the course will work to his advantage. “It's nice because you're comfortable with all the holes,” he said. “You know what to do.” And in match play, each hole carries its own weight. “In stroke play you can have a couple of bad holes and be out of the tournament because you're playing every hole,” Legge explained.“Match play is different in that you play each hole as a separate tournament, so to speak. You have to focus on each hole. You play each hole the best you can.” Few individuals know the holes around MCCC as well as Legge, who not only plays regularly on the course, but has served on its board of directors as well. “This place has really come full circle to a real country club with a lot of hard work from a lot of people,” Legge said. “I feel proud that I participated and tried and made things better. I always say leave things better than you found it. It's been a lot of work, but it's been rewarding, too.” Just like his golf game.